WILLIAM LEE MARTIN

Radio Record, 5 June 1936, Page 6

WILLIAM LEE MARTIN

-Cut And | Come Again

Specially Written for the "Radio Record" by

CLYDE

CARR

M.P.

legislator who has played see-saw with a politica] opponent. Others have, in fact, even in this country, played that game, though all unwillingly, longer and hence with more ups and downs than he. Up and down ik this sense means also'in and out. And probably ali such unfortunates would agree with the dictum of Mr. Langstone that the worst seat in Parliament is better than the best seat out of it. Mr, Lee Martin was elected member for Raglan at a by-election made uecessary by the death of the Hon. R. F. Bollard in 1927. At the Genera! Dlection of 1931 he was defeated by Mr. D. 8. Reid, who had previously represented Waikato from 1925 to 1928. At the last General Election, Mr. Martin recaptured the Raglan seat from Mr. Reid. And so, 2s Mr. Semple would say, we go round and round the mulberry bush. Let us hope not; for the tense and sense of "io go" are not those of "to have gone" ‘I have heard it said that Labour puts its best men into Parliament while its opponents keep their best men out, so that they may run the show behind the scenes. That would seem to smack of something almost as bad as "dominance by the Trades Hall." {t wonld appear. anyway. that Labour members at least are no mere voting machines, This is -ertainly so in the case of Mr. Martin, for he has a strong streak of independence in his make-up, and has actually been known to rock the boat occasionally. Indeed, whether or not his defeat at the General Blection of 1931 was due to this, his platform utterances were in certain particulars not in harmony with the general policy. The old question arises which every politician has to face, especially in a constituency where conflicting interests lie. In fact it is a sort of fallacy of many questions. Yor there may be 2 second conflict going on in one’s own mind, quite apart from that in the constituency, Dean Paget has said, "Kivery man’s task is his lifepreserver, The thought that his work is dear to God and cannot be spared, defends him." But it is equally true that this very thought may be the means of his defeat. Here am I member for the district: I believe I am the best man for the job. Shonld 1 take risk of being put T™ HON. W. LEE MARTIN is by no means the only

out by stickling for what may be, after all, a minor consideration? Here are two factions, fairly equally balanced. Bvery chairman knows what a ticklish business it often is to have to give a

casting vote. . Raglan is an electorate partly farming and partly

mining, Farmer and miner work, at ‘east, in aiterent worlds, above ground and below. One curses the weather, the other the absence of it. The weather is the farmer’s big boss. The miner’s boss may be even more grudging and fickle. ‘he publie servant, again, may not be very pumerous in the particular constituency, but he has some ‘friends almost everywhere, and is never far away. Ak Then there is another consideration. If I am a member of a party, I am still an individual, as Mr.. Martin is an individual. If 1 have individual views that happen to be at some siight variance, no more, with the particular party policy plank involved, am I to yield to the will of the majority, with a sort of mentaj reservation, or am I to break with my friends with whom, on the great issues and the great majority of issues I am in full accord? Without that general agreement I should not be in the party at all. Mr. Martina chooses to remain in the party and occasionally not to subordinate but to assert his minority view. And, mark me, he is still in the party. What is more, he is a | member of Cabinet, Minister of Agriculture. Yet he had’ bad but four years of Parliamentary experience when jie was appointed, and had been out of the House for fhe intervening four, Shall we say that is the way a ftrujy democratic party rewards independence of judgment aifd of will? Or dare we suggest that as a member of tthe Ministry a man is less likely to assert and more likely to subordinate his. individuality in minor matters? For without compromise there can be no politics. Without compromise, my friends there can be no such thing as life. I have told you very little about Mr. Martin, yet I have told you a great deal. Let us now, however, get down to a few bald facts. So far yon have had to find the facts among the principles. Now you will have to look for the principles among the facts. Remember, please, that facts are accidents, but principles‘ are eternal. Our friend was born in Oamaru in 1870. He is the senior member of Cabinet. He was educated at Waimate High School and the Christehurch Normal School. He has been an officer in the Salvation Army and is a loca! preacher of the Methodist Church. He joined the Labour Movement in Wanganuj in 1902, and was secretary of the Painters’ Union there from 1909 to 1912. He has been a friendly society member for thirty years.. In the year that Mr, D, S,

Reid won the Waikato seat, 1925, Mr. Martin stood for Hamilton, but was unsuccessful, He served a long apprenticeship ou (Continued on page &.)

Next week’s character sketch will be of the Hon. P. C. Webb, Minister of Mines.

_W. Lee Martin (Continued from page 6.) local bodies and various societies. Four years he was a member of the Wanganui Technical College Board. From 1926 to 1927 he was president of the Waikato branch of the Farmers’ Union and a memher of the Anckland provincia] executive. School ‘committees, road boards, power hoards, repatriation boards--al] these he has taken in his sturdy stride, except when seated as chairman. . The Workers: Wdueational Association and the Leagne of Nations Union have claimed his sympathetic . support and elose attention. A man of many parts, A good citizen, Traselble, forgiving and forgivable.